Power-driven billing machine



Dec. 18, 1928.

V D MANSFIELD POWER DRI VEN BILLING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1926 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 JOHN DOE Dec. 18, 1928" 1,695,769

'- v. D. MANSFIELD POWER DRIVEN BILLING MACHINE Filed'April 13, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gmenl oz Via-332 .0. Mans/kid Patented Dec. 18, 1928.

; UNITEDVSTATES' I r 1,695,769 PATENT OFFICE.

vmen. n. MANSFIELD, on COLUMBUS; OHIO.

POWER-DRIVENVBILLIING nacnmn.

Application filed April 13, 1926. Serial No. 101,800...

a fiat horizontal condition a bill or sales slip upon which an order or other sales transaction may be recorded, and embody a manually operated crank means, whereby after the recording of the transaction the slip may be forced out of the machine and torn free from the roll to which it is originally attached and used for any desired purpose. It is a primary object of the present invention to provide in a machine of this character a power operated means for effecting the'dischar e of a re.-

corded bill or sales slip from the machine without resort to the usually manually effected operation, whereby the bills. or slips may be written with greater speed and convenience, allowing the operator the use of both hands inoperating, facilitating thereby the entering of telephonic matters.

Another object of the invention rests in operating a machine of this character by the employment of an electric motor, with which is associated a model form of switch mechanism which is controlled by the movement of the paper or sales slip through the machine, the arrangement beingsuch that after the paper or slips have traveled for a predcter mined distance, equal usually to the full length of the slip, the switch mechanism is automatically operated to open the motor circuit tobring the power driven driving mechanism to a stop, the operation of the switch being accompllshed in such manner as to permit of the short interruption of the circ nit;

so as to avoid injury to the switch mechanism? With these and. other objects in vieamaswill appear as the" description proceeds, the

' invention consists in the novel features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts hereinafter to be fully described and pointedout in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

I Figure 1 is atop plan view of a bill writing machine constructed in accordance with the present invention, 1 a I Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the same, Figure 3 is a similar view on an enlarged scale disclosing the slip stopping mechanism,

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional 7 view taken through the drive mechanism comprising the present invention,

Figure 5 is an end elevation of said drive" mechanism,

Figure'6 is a detail view'of the operating lever. v Referring more particularly to'the draW- ings the numeral 1 designatesin its entirety a billing or sales recording machine formed to comprise a frame or casing 2, in which is provided a plurality of transversely extending shafts 3, upon which are mounted the rolls of paper and which are designated by the, numeral 4, said paper having printed thereon in any suitable manner the necessary sales indicia or other business form, the intermediate roll being preferably adapted to contain carbon paper or the like 5 bywhich the original and carbon slips may be produced in the customary manner with but one impression or writing. The paper is trained the upper part of the casing and adjacent to one end of a horizontally disposed writing around guide rods 6, located transversely in table 7, across which \the paper travels-in a flat'horizontal plane and is accessible through an opening 8 provided in the upper part of the casing.

- The mechanism" for drawing the paper longitudinally across the upper surface of the table comprises, in this instance, an upper roller 9, journaled in connection with bearings 10 provided on the casing, the roller 9 being arranged to enga e frictionallywith thepaper andto press t e latter toward the upper surfaceofthe-table so as to effect its frictional propulsion in conjunction with other mechanis ni'to he'hereinafter described. Below the uppersurface of the table and arranged in vertical alignment with the roller 9 is an o eratin shaft 11.' This shaft is mounted in bearings 12 carried in connection with the casing and has loosely mounted u on the central portion thereofa drlving disk 13. The upper surface or peripheral edge of this disk passes through a slot 14,

. formed in the end of the table7, in order. that disk-is formed axially to provide a conical opening 15, adapted for engagement with a sliding conical clutch member 16.- Ad acent tating this disk will now be described. -The the member 16 a, shaft 11 is provided with a i I longitudinally extending slot 17 in which is received a transversely extending pin 18 carried by an operating rod 19, the latter be ng slidably mounted within an axial opening formed longitudinally in the shaft 11. By 'this arrangement it will be seen that the clutch member is mounted for-rotation with the shaft 11 but in addition is adjustable longitudinally thereof. Also mounted on the shaft 11 and fixed for rotation therewith are disks 20, spaced transversely from the maiu'driving disk'13, and between the top of one ofthe disks 20 and the clutch member 16 and surrounding the shaft 11 is a coil spring 21, the normal tendency of which being to maintain the driving. clutch 16 in engagement with the disk 13.

To impart movement to the shaft 11 the present invention contemplates providing the casing 2 with an electric motor 22, having the armature shaft 23 thereof extended into a speed reducing mechanism designated gen erally by the numeral 24. This mechanism may take one of several forms, but in this instance is shown to comprise a casing 25 formed to receive a worm 26 on one end of the shaft 23. The worm 26 engages with a worm gear 27, arranged on a transverse shaft 28. This shaft, in turn, is provided with a worm 29 arranged to engage with a gear 30, also located in the casing 25. The gear 30 is mount-- ed upon a shaft'31, which extends exteriorly of the casing and has one of its outer ends:

provided with a sprocket 32,. around which passes a chain 33, leading upwardly to an aligned sprocket 34, fixed on the shaft 11. By this arrangement it will be seen that when the motor is energized, power is transmitted to the shaft 11, through the clutch member 16 and into the driving disk '13so as to propel the paper through the machine. 4

. This movement of the paperon the operation of the lower transmission means is regulated automatically following initial man ual starting, and this is accomplished by providing the outer end of the shaft 11 with a screw member'35, the hub of which being adapted to receive the outer end of a transversely extending pin 36, which also extends through therod 19, and isreceived within a longitudinally extending slot 37 provided in the shaft 11. It will be seen that upon the f rotation of the'shaft 11, after the motor 22 has been initially energized, longitudinal movement will be imparted in an outward direction to the screw member 35 by reason of the engagement with the threads-of the latter with a pivoted operating lever'38, pivotally mounted as at 39 in connection with the casing 2. When the parts of the machine are in the positions shown in full lines in Figure 4 the motor has been initially energized to move the slips. It will be observed that when the parts are'in the positions disclosed the clutch member 16 is in engagehas been centered and forced upwardly into frictional engagement with the paper and the upper roll. However, after movement has been thus initiated the screw member, by engagement with the lever 38, is moved longitudlnally of the shaft so as to release the driving engagement between the disk 13 and the clutch member, since this stage is so alternatedin moving the paper, the continned forward movement of the paper being procured by means of the relatively thin disk 20, carried by the shaft 11 and which are constantl in engagement with the upper roller or the paper'.- It will be observed that the screw member will be moved outwardly on l the shaft to normally assume the dotted line position disclosed in Figure 4, wherein it is held by the action of the lever 38 until the next succeeding operation of the machine. A collar 40 is fixed on the shaft 11, adjacent to the disk 13, so as to hold the latter in proper engagement with'the clutch member 16.

As-is customary in machines .of thistype the, paper slips are provided at suitable intervals with perforations 41, with which.

cooperate stop hooks 42, mountpd upon a rock shaft 43 journaled in the casing beneath the table 7 This rock shaft is rovided with a crank extension 44, with w ich cooperates a spring 45, the normal tendency of which being to maintain the ends of the hooks 42 in engagement with the under surface of the paper passing over the table, the

free ends of said hooks operating in slots 46' provided in the table 7 and through which slots extend the upper peripheral edges ofthe disks 20'. .By means of the hooks42 a v positive means are provided for limiting the longitudinal travel of the slips for each given operation. This mechanism is also used to open the electrical circuit in which the motor 22 is situated. In this instance the operat-' ing motor circuit comprises a switch mechanism, including spaced contacts .47, one of which carries a pivoted lever 48 by meansof which current passage between the con tacts is governed. The outer end of the lever 48 has pivotally connected thereto an operat- 5 ing connection 49, in the form of a wire bent to include an angular-1y directed portion 50, capable ofengaging the clutch'member 16 along the intermediate portion thereof and having the extreme upper end fastened to the rock shaft 43.

In operation, to actuate the mechanism, the

lever 38 is depressed so as to release the screw 7 member 35 from engagement with said'lever,

and to'thereby' allow longitudinal movement of the rod 19 and the clutch member 16, to gether with the screw member 85 relative to' the shaft 11 under the influence of the main actuating spring 21. This -movement on the part of the clutch member resultsin the engagement-with the connection 49 so as to 41 in the paper so that the latter may be moved forwardly in response to the rotating disks 13 and which are thenrevolving with the shaft 11 driven by the motor 22. After this initial movement has been instigated,

' however, it is no longer necessary to use the central driving disk 13, since the disks 20 are capable. of continuing the'movement of the paper. This is accomplished by, the release of the lever 38 so that the latter will engage with the threads of the screw member and cause the operating shaft 19 to move longitudinally and thereby draw the clutch member 16 out of driving engagement with the disk 13. .This allows the'di'sk 13.130 drop to a position free from engagement with the paper. The lever 38 is automatic in its operation in maintaining the clutch member withdrawn and to hold the latter against the influence of its spring 21. The withdrawal of theclutcli member from driving engagement wit-h the disk 13 does not, however. interrupt the circuit of the motor 22, since the connection 49 has connection with the rock shaft 43, [and the latter is held against the action of its spring 45 by'the engagement of the forward or free ends of the hooks 42 with the under side of the paper strip passing through the machine. However, after an ejected strip has reached a certain prescribed distance of longitudinal travel, the hooks register with the perforations 4l and move shortlyin an upward direction'by the passage of the hooks through the perforations in response to the influence of the spring 45. This results in the quick rotation of the rock shaft 43, and 1n the corresponding elevation of the connection 49, thereby lifting the actuating lever of the motor control switch so as to break or interrupt the circuit. Since the motor transmission mechanism is formed ,to comtial depression or operation of the prise worm gearing it is obvious that as soon as a circuit is interrupted there will be little or no tendency on the part of the drive mechanism to-coast or drift,-as the mechanism is brought to an immediate stop, permitting' of the tearing off of the used sales slip with the machine in position for a subsequent operation.

By the provision of the mechanism 'described it will be seen'that the present invention provides an automatically operating means for effecting theforced passage of the paper sheet through the machine, and'in effecting the operation of the machine the only manual operation that is required actuating lever 38, which may beinstantly released and the machine will then' operate without furlimited only by the express terms of the folis the ini-' stantially flush with that of the top of the counter or other cabinet in which the machine is placed. With hand operated machines this is usually impracticable due to the size of the operating crank and to the amount of travel which the latter mustbe given to move the papers through the machine. While Ihave described what I now consider to be the preferred form of the present invention, neverthe-less, it will be understood that the inventionis not limited to the structural details and features above described but that various changes and modifications may be made from time to time, the scope of the invention being lowing claims.

\Vhat is claimed is: 1. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a casing comprising a table, frictional feeding devices arranged adjacent to one end of said table and adapted to have assed between-them a record sheet, said sheet eing provided at spaced intervals with perforations, an electric motor, power transmission means situated between said motor and said frictional devices, a switchfor controlling the operation of saidmotor, and an operating device for said switch arranged to engage the record sheet in alignment with the perforations formed therein, whereby when the-sheet has been moved to a predetermined extent bringing the perforations therein into registration with said operating device the latter will be operated to arrest movement on" the part of said motor.

prising a table, frictional feeding rollers arranged adjacent to one end of said table and adapted to have laced between them a record sheet, said sheet eing provided at spaced in-- tervals with perforations, a shaft journaled' in said casing, an electric motor, power transmission'devices between said motor and said shaft, a disk loosely mounted on said shaft and provided with a conical bore, a conical clutch member rotatable and longitudinally eration of said motor, and movable link means cooperative with said switch and said clutch member to close the circuit of said motor when the clutch member is in driving engagement with said disk and to permit of the opening of said switch when said clutchvmem- 1:25

her is disengaged with said disk, said link means beingfurther arranged for engagement with the perforations in 1 said record sheet to complete the opening of said switch.

- In. an autographic register, -'a casing, a

2. In an autographic register, a casing'com 1 feed shaft rotatably journaled in said casing,

fixed and loose feed rollers mounted on said shaft and arranged to project through openings provided in the top of said casing for frictional engagement with a record sheet, a

conical clutch rotatable with and slidablymounted upon said shaft, spring means normally serving tomaintain said clutchv in engagement with the conical bore provided in said loose roller, an electric motor, power transmission devices between said motor and said shaft, a switch for controlling the motor circuit, means automatically operable to 1 withdraw said clutch'from driving engagement with said loose roller after movement of the shaft has been initiated, and an operating link for said switch arranged in contact: with .said clutch for permitting of the opening of said switchafter said clutch member has been disengaged from driving relation with said loose roller. v

= .4. In an autographic register, in combination, a casing provided with a table across which a record sheet is drawn longitudinally,

said sheet being provided with longitudinally spaced" perforations, frictional feeding devices carried by said casing and cooperative ,with said sheet to effect longitudinal travel I thereof, an electric motor, power transmitting means between saidv motor and said devices, a

switch for controlling'the circuit of said 1110- tor, and an actuator for said switch cooper-a tive with said sheet to maintain said switch 1n a circuit closing position during predeter-- mined travel on the part of said sheet, sa d ac- 

